Have successful people ever felt sad? Do they have any “secrets” to success? The answers to these questions can be found in US president Barack Obama’s “back to school” speech. Here is an excerpt(摘录) from his speech.

I know that sometimes, you hope that you can be rich and successful without any hard work—that your ticket to success is through pop music or basketball or being a TV star, when chances come, you’re not going to be any of those things.

But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. Not all the homework will seem rather important to your life ,but you should try your best. And you may not succeed at everything the first time you try.

That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures (the opposite of success). JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was turned down 12 times before it finally came out. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots (投篮) during his career. But he once said, “I have failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures beat(打败) you—you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time.

No one’s born being good at things. You become good at things through hard work.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to tell when you don’t know something, and to learn something new.

And even when you’re struggling(奋斗), even when you’re discouraged (泄气), and you feel other people have given up on you.but you should remember, don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

1.Some of the most successful people in the world have are the ones who’ve had the______ failures.

A. fewest       B. most          C. saddest        D. valuable

2.What can be found in US president Barack Obama’s “back to school” speech ?

A. secrets to success.

B. being successful is easy. 

C. your failures beat you.

D. Asking for help is a sign of weakness.

3.Why does Barack Obama mention (提到) JK Rowling and Michael Jordan in the third paragraph?

A. To compare these two famous persons.

B. To explain that the more failures he has, the more successful he is.

C. If you want to be successful, you should fail first.

D. To show that failure is the mother of success.

4.Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. No one can be successful without working hard.

B. Failure can be good if you treat it in a right way.

C. Those who believe in themselves shouldn’t ask others for help.

D. One should try his best to make his dream come true.

5.Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined sentence?

A. One shouldn’t ask questions because it is a sign of strength.

B. One should believe in himself though he will face much difficulty.

C. One doesn’t have to work hard when he has failed several times.

D. One doesn’t have to ask for help because it is a sign of weakness.

 

Do you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? Normally the women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s. Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent（聪明的） than women. Right? Wrong. Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size. Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain. The brain is made up of “grey matter” and “white matter”. While men have more of the white matter, the amount（数量）of “thinking” brain is almost the same in both men and women.

It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women. This means that little girls may learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of different information at the same time. When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time.

There are other important differences between two sexes（性别）. As white matter is the key to spatial（空间的）tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things. “A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher. That may explain one of life’s great mysteries: why men refuse to ask for directions … and women often need to!

The differences begin when fetuses（胎儿）are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children when they are very young. A boy would try to climb a barrier before him or push it down while a girl would ask for help from others. These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills. It may all go back to our ancestors, among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research.

1.Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 1?

A．Grey matter controls thinking in the brain.

B．Men’s brain is 10% less than women’s.

C．Grey matter plays the same role as white matter.

D．Men and women have the same amount of white matter.

2.What can you infer from Paragraphs 2 and 3?

A．Men have weaker spatial abilities.

B．Women do not need to tell directions.

C．Women prefer doing many things at a time.

D．Women do many jobs at a time better than men.

3.What can you learn from Paragraph 4?

A．Our children needed more spatial skills.

B．Women may have more feelings than men.

C．Young boys may be stronger than young girls.

D．More women take up jobs requiring speech skills.

4.The passage is mainly about _______.

A．ways of being more intelligent

B．differences between men and women

C．studies on brains between two sexes

D．studies on white matter and grey matter

 

Do you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? Normally the women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s. Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent（聪明的） than women. Right? Wrong. Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size. Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain. The brain is made up of “grey matter” and “white matter”. While men have more of the white matter, the amount（数量）of “thinking” brain is almost the same in both men and women.

It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women. This means that little girls may learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of different information at the same time. When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time.

   There are other important differences between two sexes（性别）. As white matter is the key to spatial（空间的）tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things. “A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher. That may explain one of life’s great mysteries: why men refuse to ask for directions … and women often need to!

   The differences begin when fetuses（胎儿）are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children when they are very young. A boy would try to climb a barrier before him or push it down while a girl would ask for help from others. These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills. It may all go back to our ancestors, among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research.

1.Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 1?

A. Grey matter controls thinking in the brain.

B. Men’s brain is 10% less than women’s.

C. Grey matter plays the same role as white matter.

D. Men and women have the same amount of white matter.

2.What can you infer from Paragraphs 2 and 3?

A. Men have weaker spatial abilities.

B. Women do not need to tell directions.                                      

C. Women prefer doing many things at a time.

D. Women do many jobs at a time better than men.

3.What can you learn from Paragraph 4?

A. Our children needed more spatial skills.

B. Women may have more feelings than men.

C. Young boys may be stronger than young girls.

D. More women take up jobs requiring speech skills.

4. The passage is mainly about _______.

A. ways of being more intelligent

B. differences between men and women

C. studies on brains between two sexes

D. studies on white matter and grey matter

 

Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy.  After all，you probably sing or whistle when you are happy.

    Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However，they sing most of the time for a very different reason. Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.

Do you know what a 'territory' is? A territory is an area that an animal，usually the male，claims(声称)as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same kind are welcome. Your garden and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten(威胁)you，you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.

If so，you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight him. A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time，especially at nesting(筑巢)season. So he is screaming all the time，whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a bird's song，and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.

Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs..

     You can see that birds have a language of their own. Most of it has to do with attracting mates and setting up territories.

1. Some scientists believe that most of the time bird's singing is actually _______.

      A. away of warning              B. an expression of happiness

      C. an expression of anger          D. away of greeting

2.What is a bird's "territory"?.

      A. A place where families of other kinds are not accepted.

      B. A place where a bird may shut at the top of its voice

      C. An area for which birds fight against each other.

      D. An area which a bird considers to be its own.

3. Why do birds keep on singing at nesting season?

      A. Because they want to invite more friends.

      B. Because they want to find outsiders around.

      C. Because their singing helps frighten outsiders away.

      D. Because their singing helps remove their fears.

4.How does the writer explain bird's singing?

A. By comparing birds with human beings.    B. By reporting experiment results.

C. By describing birds' daily life.        D. By telling a bird's story.

 

Saying no can be very difficult. People who are very shy often have little confidence. They think that they have to meet everyone’s need. It is very hard for them to say no. they sometimes feel shy if they say no, but doing things that they don’t want to will make them unhappy.

A simple and direct “No” is the best way. If you want to explain, you can keep it simple. Just say, “No, I’ve already made plans for this time” or, “Sorry, I’m afraid I’m not free at that time.”

Other ways of saying no:

▲  I can’t do this right now.

▲  No, but thank for asking.

▲  Please accept that I cannot come.

▲  I’d rather not.

To say no you should:

▲  Start the sentence with the word no.

▲  Shake your head when you say no to make sure they understand. Your voice should be clear and direct. Keep eye contact.

If someone makes a request, it is necessary to ask for time to think it over. The decision should be up to you, but sometimes it is difficult to say no. You can try to reply in the following way:

“Sorry. I would have taken care of your cat next weekend, but I will be going out. I know it will be hard to find someone to take care of the cat. I will try to help you next time.” Remember  that: you have the right to say no!

1.What does the writer encourage us to do?

2.How many ways of saying no are mentioned in the passage?

3.Who has a hard time saying no?

4.When you say no, what should you do as well?

5.If you want to refuse someone’s request, what will you say?